Chapter 30 · My Sister's Still Breathing

The elevator doesn't stop at the fortieth floor. It keeps going, and my stomach drops with every floor we pass. Kade's standing in the corner, both hands on the rail like he's trying to hold himself in place. Blood's still dried under his nails.

"You can still walk out," he says. His voice is flat. Empty. "I'll go up alone."

I don't answer. My heartbeat's playing through the elevator speaker now, looping over and over. It's the same rhythm Crowe's been broadcasting since we left the grid behind. My pulse. My sister's marker. The sound that's supposed to mean she's still alive.

Kade's jaw tightens. "Mara."

"I heard you the first time."

The elevator slows. Fifty-eighth floor. The doors don't open right away. There's a soft click, then a hiss of pressurized air, and the heartbeat loop cuts out. Silence rushes in to fill the gap. It's worse than the sound.

The doors slide open.

The floor's empty. No guards. No drones. Just a long hallway with glass walls on both sides, and at the far end, a single door with a red light above it. The kind of light that means someone's watching. Someone's waiting.

Kade steps out first.